


If You're Still Breathing

by Nellsie



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/F, don't worry alethea lives, kind of??, she does, tho they're not very convinced she will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 06:03:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7703374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellsie/pseuds/Nellsie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alethea and Sera exchange some words. I wrote this at like 3 in the morning whilst listening to Youth by Daughter. Beta'd by the awesome Nyghtlei17</p>
            </blockquote>





	If You're Still Breathing

The crossroads are quiet, save for the sound of footsteps on a stone path.

The sky is pink and blue and blurry, like a bulb of serault glass. The dwindling veil wears on Alethea. It’s being stretched out as far as it can go, she can  _ feel _ something’s missing, . It’s quite irritating, actually. She thinks it’s a magic thing, but Sera also hates it, so maybe not. It’s  _ probably _ an elf thing. Alethea contemplates whether she gives a shit or not because she’s mostly distracting herself.

The colors, the veil,  _ everything. _ Everything is too bright, too bizarre, too… too much.

Her hand stings. It’s a dull, continuous pain that doesn’t stop. It doesn’t hurt as much as when the pain was sharp and new. It’ll pick up when she gets close to anything Elvhen, or magical. Or any other stupid thing that decides to be a nuisance and point out that she’ll-

But, Alethea won’t finish that thought.

She keeps walking down the path, which is not quite right. Everything in this place is just a bit  _ off _ . The sky is not quite pink, the ground is not quite grey, maybe her hand isn’t quite killing her. Though, just a few seconds ago she told herself not to think about that.

“So what’s this about your hand getting worse?”

Alethea freezes.

“It isn’t though, right?” Sera sounds confident.

Sera’s voice breaks through the silence and Alethea’s head (which was full of racing thoughts about magic and the crossroads and this stupid thing on her hand) is clear. She has to say something,  _ anything. _ Something reassuring; though she’s not quite sure what reassuring words she’s supposed to say. She certainly can’t think of anything to make herself feel better.

“I mean, Leliana isn’t always right. She can’t be. Please?” Sera’s voice breaks a little on ‘please’, and for just a second, Alethea shuts her eyes tightly. Her eyes are starting to water and she blames it on the colors, how horribly bright the damned crossroads are.

She turns around and tries to smile. It’s weak and nothing like the confident, smug grins she’s shown off before. Alethea has never really smiled like this. Not when facing the high dragons, not even when dealing with the fade, or any situation where she could’ve died. Hell, Alethea told jokes about how Corypheus dressed before facing him;  _ “If I ever become a darkspawn magister, just know, I wouldn’t wear striped stockings. Not with those heels.”   _ She’d said.  And meant it.

She smiles like this now because she has no blind confidence. She has no pride in her skill and her progress. She  _ does _ have two years of leading something that could very well break apart. She has her hand and her mark which is  _ aching _ and burning, and she has to find Solas. He was the one responsible for her pain and Sera’s. It’s always fun, hunting down your former friends.

She looks at Sera, and she has no idea what to say. No idea what one is supposed to do when Sera is looking at her with this sort of pleading gaze. When Dorian and Bull have moved to the side to give them a moment. When Alethea should know exactly what to say.

She takes Sera’s hands.

“Come on, it’s our last adventure together.” She says, her smile betraying her because tears are welling up in her bright blue eyes. Her mouth is refusing to cooperate, she’s frowning and she still doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do.

She looks up at Sera, her  _ wife,  _ now. They got married today, and Alethea exchanged rings, and vows, and her sister stood up and gave a speech. One of Sera’s friends - a Jenny who could outdrink the both of them - told a story. Alethea laughed, she had smiled,  and she had kissed Sera on a balcony.

She tries again, she’s quieter this time. “Whatever happens I… I wouldn’t trade the years I’ve had with you for anything.”, she says as she pulls herself together at the end and manages a smile, as if that would make anything better. She hopes it does. “I love you.”

Sera doesn’t pause. She grits her teeth and tightens her grip on Alethea’s hands. “Fucking words.” She spits, “We  _ do _ and we  _ fight  _ until…” She sighs, sniffling and holding back tears, “I love you, and I get to keep  _ something, _ you hear?”

“I hear.” Alethea says, her heart sinking in her chest. She hears, she doesn’t know if she can deliver. She’ll do everything in her power to.

They paused for a moment; Alethea looked down at their hands. “Is this the part where we kiss?”, she asks and tries to smile. It’s better than the first two attempts, but somehow she feels worse, this whole encounter makes her feel ill.

They have a world to save, a job to do, and Alethea has never been afraid of dying. She still isn’t, she doesn’t  _ want to. _

The crossroads are quiet, save for the sounds of footsteps on a stone path.

**Author's Note:**

> lmao what is this??? who knows but @nyghtlei17 made it infinitely better by reading it and lecturing me about my overuse of commas. she's very nice go read her sin.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gyMka33aOQ - based of this conversation you get with sera in trespasser. i hate bioware why would they do this to me. i love sera too much you guys.


End file.
